Published: 20 November 2018
Unemployment decreased and employment increased in October
According to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, the number of employed people was 43,000 higher in October 2018 than one year ago. The number of unemployed persons was 171,000, which was 26,000 lower than one year ago. The trend of the unemployment rate was 7.2 per cent and the trend of the employment rate 71.8 per cent.
Employment rate and trend of employment rate 2008/10–2018/10, persons aged 15–64
![Employment rate and trend of employment rate 2008/10–2018/10, persons aged 15–64](tyti_2018_10_2018-11-20_tie_001_en_001.gif)
Unemployment and employment vary quite considerably by month and the change from the observation of the previous month mainly describes the seasonal aspect rather than the trend in development. Thus, the latest statistical data are compared to the corresponding period of the year before. By contrast, the figures of the trend series that are adjusted for seasonal and random variation are mutually comparable and phenomena associated with long-term development and cyclical changes are thus more easily observable from the trend of the time series.
The trend usually changes somewhat when the data of the following month are included in the time series. This preliminary nature of trend figures should be taken into account when making conclusions. The figures reported in this release are not adjusted for seasonal variation unless separately mentioned that they concern the trend. Find out more about the trend here .
In October 2018, the number of employed persons was 2,535,000 (margin of error ±33,000), which was 43,000 higher than a year earlier. There were 14,000 more employed men and 29,000 more employed women than in October 2017.
In October, the employment rate , that is, the proportion of the employed among persons aged 15 to 64, stood at 71.5 per cent, having been 70.0 per cent one year earlier. From last year’s October, men’s employment rate rose by 0.9 percentage points to 72.0 per cent and women’s by 2.1 percentage points to 71.0 per cent. Adjusted for seasonal and random variation, the trend of the employment rate was 71.8 per cent.
According to Statistics Finland's Labour Force Survey, there were 171,000 unemployed (margin of error ±18,000) in October 2018, i.e. 26,000 fewer than one year earlier. The number of unemployed men was 95,000 and that of women 76,000.
At 6.3 per cent, the unemployment rate was 1.0 percentage points lower in October than one year earlier. The unemployment rate of men decreased by 0.6 percentage points to 6.8 per cent, and that of women by 1.4 percentage points to 5.8 per cent. The trend of the unemployment rate was 7.2 per cent.
In October, there were a total of 617,000 young people aged 15 to 24 . Of them, 232,000 were employed and 40,000 unemployed. The number of young people in the active population, i.e. the employed and unemployed in total, was 273,000. In October, the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24, that is, the proportion of the unemployed among the labour force, stood at 14.7 per cent, which was 2.4 percentage points higher than one year previously. The trend of the unemployment rate among young people was 17.5 per cent. The share of unemployed young people aged 15 to 24 among the population in the same age group was 6.5 per cent.
There were 1,419,000 persons in the inactive population in October 2018, which was 10,000 fewer than one year earlier. Of the inactive population, 130,000 persons were in disguised unemployment , which was 7,000 fewer than in October 2017.
Changes in employment 2017/10 – 2018/10 according to Statistics Finland’s Labour Force Survey, population aged 15 to 74
Year/Month | Change | ||
2017/10 | 2018/10 | 2017/10 - 2018/10 | |
1000 persons | Per cent, % | ||
Population total | 4 118 | 4 126 | 0,2 |
Active population total | 2 689 | 2 707 | 0,7 |
Employed | 2 492 | 2 535 | 1,7 |
– employees | 2 180 | 2 202 | 1,1 |
– self-employed persons and unpaid family workers | 312 | 332 | 6,3 |
Unemployed | 197 | 171 | –13,0 |
Inactive population | 1 429 | 1 419 | –0,7 |
– persons in disguised unemployment | 137 | 130 | –4,8 |
Per cent, % | Percentage points | ||
Employment rate, persons aged 15–64 | 70,0 | 71,5 | 1,5 |
Unemployment rate | 7,3 | 6,3 | –1,0 |
Activity rate | 65,3 | 65,6 | 0,3 |
Unrounded figures are used in the
Change column. The data comply with the ILO/EU definition. |
Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment
At the end of October 2018, there were a total of 230,000 persons registered in accordance with the Employment Office Regulations as job seekers at the employment and economic development offices . The number of unemployed job seekers was 42,000 lower than in October of the year before.
Unemployment fell in October from the corresponding period in 2017 in the areas of all Employment and Economic Development Centres: most in Pirkanmaa (-25%), Ostrobothnia (-20%), Southeast Finland (-18%), South Ostrobothnia (-18%) and North Ostrobothnia (-18%). At the end of October, the number of fully laid off persons registered at the employment and economic development offices was 8,000, which was 2,000 fewer than twelve months earlier.
The number of persons engaged in services included in the activation rate totalled 131,000 at the end of October, which was 5,000 more than in October of the previous year. Altogether, 4.8 per cent of the labour force was covered by labour market policy services.
There were 28,000 unemployed job seekers aged under 25 registered at the employment and economic development offices. Their number was 4,000 lower than in last year's October. During this October, 57,000 new vacancies were reported to the employment and economic development offices, which was 9,000 more than in October 2017.
Changes 2017/10–2018/10 according to the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment
Year/Month | Change | ||
2017/10 | 2018/10 | 2017/10 - 2018/10 | |
1000 persons | Per cent, % | ||
Unemployed job seekers | 273 | 230 | –15,5 |
– unemployed over a year | 95 | 68 | –27,8 |
Services, total | 126 | 131 | 4,2 |
– employed | 24 | 25 | 4,5 |
– in labour market training, in training | 22 | 24 | 11,1 |
– engaged in work/training trials | 12 | 11 | –6,7 |
– as a job alternation substitute, in rehabilitative work, self-motivated studies supported by unemployment benefit | 68 | 70 | 3,7 |
New vacancies at employment and economic development offices | 48 | 57 | 19,8 |
Unrounded figures are used in the Change column. |
Contact information for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and
Employment:
Petri Syvänen , tel. +358 29 504 8050, www.tem.fi/tyollisyyskatsaus
Links
Labour Force Survey tables in databases
About seasonally adjusted trend
The accuracy of figures and the margins of error are explained in the quality description of the Labour Force Survey .
Latest seasonally adjusted unemployment figures published by the EU can be found on Eurostat's home page http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat
Latest data on open job vacancies published by the EU can be found on Eurostat’s home page http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat
Source: Labour force survey 2018, October. Statistics Finland
Inquiries: Ulla Hannula 029 551 2924, Henri Lukkarinen 029 551 3704, tyovoimatutkimus@stat.fi
Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma
Publication in pdf-format (455.5 kB)
- Tables
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Tables in databases
Pick the data you need into tables, view the data as graphs, or download the data for your use.
Appendix tables
- Appendix table 1. Key indicators in the Labour Force Survey by sex 2017/10 - 2018/10 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 2. Population aged 15-74 by labour force status and sex 2017/10 - 2018/10 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 3. Population by sex and age 2017/10 - 2018/10 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 4. Active population by sex and age 2017/10 - 2018/10 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 5. Activity rates by sex and age 2017/10 - 2018/10 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 6. Employed persons by sex and age 2017/10 - 2018/10 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 7. Employment rates by sex and age 2017/10 - 2018/10 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 8. Employed persons aged 15-74 by status in employment 2017/10 - 2018/10 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 9. Employed persons aged 15-74 by employer sector 2017/10 - 2018/10 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 10. Employed persons aged 15-74 by Regional State Administrative Agencies (AVI) 2017/10 - 2018/10 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 11. Part-time employed persons aged 15-74 by sex 2017/10 - 2018/10 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 12. Proportion of part-time employed persons in all employed persons aged 15-74 by sex 2017/10 - 2018/10, % (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 13. Employees aged 15-74 by type of employment relationship 2017/10 - 2018/10 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 14. Employees aged 15-74 by type of employment relationship 2017/10 - 2018/10, % (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 15. Unemployed persons by sex and age 2017/10 - 2018/10 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 16. Unemployment rates by sex and age 2017/10 - 2018/10 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 17. Unemployment rates by Regional State Administrative Agencies (AVI) 2017/10 - 2018/10, persons aged 15-74 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix table 18. Seasonally adjusted trends 2018/10 (20.11.2018)
- Figures
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- Appendix figure 1. Employment rate and trend of employment rate 2008/10 - 2018/10, persons aged 15 - 64 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix figure 2. Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 2008/10 - 2018/10, persons aged 15 - 74 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix figure 3. Employment rate and trend of employment rate 1989/01 - 2018/10, persons aged 15 - 64 (20.11.2018)
- Appendix figure 4. Unemployment rate and trend of unemployment rate 1989/01 - 2018/10, persons aged 15 - 74 (20.11.2018)
- Quality descriptions
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- Quality Description: Labour force survey (20.11.2018)
Updated 20.11.2018
Official Statistics of Finland (OSF):
Labour force survey [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-7857. October 2018. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 17.8.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/2018/10/tyti_2018_10_2018-11-20_tie_001_en.html